Electrical connectors come in countless sizes, shapes and types. A common type of connector is a pin-and-socket connector in which a elongate pin contact (male) is received in a substantially hollow cylindrical socket contact (female) comprised of a plurality of arcuate leaf contacts. The leaf contacts abut the sidewalls of the pin contact providing electrical continuity.
There are numerous applications in which electrical connectors are used in environments in which the connectors are subjected to shock and vibration, often along multiple axes of force. One example of this is where cables are used to establish electrical connections between components of a sub-sea seismic measurement system including high-pressure explosive seismic sources and one or more hydrophones and other instruments for taking seismic readings in connection with oil and gas exploration. Electrical signals including timing and control signals, measurement signals, and so on, must be reliably conducted between the various components of the seismic system. These signals may be analog, digital, or a combination of the two.
Seismic sources generate tremendous shock waves, making it critical for any electrical connections in their vicinity to be robust and durable. Particularly where digital signals are involved (as is becoming more prevalent with state-of-the-art seismic instrumentation), it is important for electrical connections to be shock- and vibration-resistant, i.e., to maintain uninterrupted continuity over long periods of time even when subjected to mechanical forces (shock and vibration, or g-force) exerted on multiple axes.
It has been found in the prior art that there is a potential failure mechanism which can arise where conventional pin-and-socket connectors are subjected to repeated shocks or mechanical disturbances, such as from a seismic source. In particular, it has been found that in certain circumstances, the continuity between the pin contact and the leaf contacts that surround it can be interrupted for short periods of time (microseconds) in response to sufficiently energetic shocks produced by a seismic source.
Especially where digital signals are involved, and depending upon the fault tolerance of the digital circuitry involved, even such short interruptions in continuity can result in improper operation of the seismic equipment, loss of seismic data, and other problems. Modern day source controllers utilize continuous data streams which do not tolerate short-term connection interruptions caused by extreme g-force conditions.
This problem of electrical discontinuity can appreciably worsen when mechanical disturbances, either during use or during insertion or removal cause outward radial deflection of electrical contact components (e.g., leaf contacts) beyond a certain threshold, causing permanent deformation of the electrical contacts such that spring tension between the leaf contacts and an engaged pin contact is compromised.